Highway Companion

Tom Petty's third solo album is filled with restlessness and a near-obsession with the passage of time, created by an artist who perceives more road behind, than before, him. He's right, of course, and he's using this album to work out his own demons about aging, creating a concept record about motion -- which finds him moving backward and forward through time, whether it's by car, horse, train or foot. Mike Campbell's guitar is a fierce and evocative complement to these strong, revelatory songs.